Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 22nd

Friday of Week 22 Year 2

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Some of us seem to excel in coming up with conclusions about others or judging others. Just because a person is not doing things the way we expect; or we hear about the person doing this or that and we act upon such news without careful investigation; or we have already assumed certain things about certain persons wihout fully understanding the person and where he or she is coming from; we pass judgement on the person so quickly. Sometimes, we end up eating humble pie, or we discover a little too late that we have made a terrible mistake in making such judgments. The thing is, we are being reckless and presumptuous when we jump to conclusions or make judgements in this way. Unkind words and actions cannot be taken back, once they are said or meted out.

In today’s reading, St. Paul cautions us: “There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes; he will light up all that is hidden in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts. Then will be the time for each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.” This does not mean that we do not make judgements at all, but we should refrain from making impulsive or premature ones. Sometimes it may be best to wait and see, and let God guide us in our thoughts and actions, so that we would be patient and compassionate towards others. After all, we too have done wrong before, and yet God is ever patient and merciful towards us. Likewise, we too should do the same towards others.

Thursday of Week 22 Year 2

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From a young age, many of us were told by our parents to study hard and excel in school. Even our teachers would sometimes pay extra attention to those students who were bright or hardworking, since these were the students who were obedient and were serious in their studies. When we went for higher studies, some of us may have been reminded by our parents to “study hard, work hard, don’t break your parents hearts” (a so called idiom I recall hearing a few times, but have no clear idea where it originated from). But all these efforts in doing well and succeeding in life, are they an indication that a person would be wise? Sometimes we come across people who we consider wise but who may not be so highly educated, or may not be wise according to the expectations of the world, but we say that they are wise in a different way. In fact, can anyone really claim to be wise?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Make no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says: The Lord knows wise men’s thoughts: he knows how useless they are; or again: God is not convinced by the arguments of the wise. So there is nothing to boast about in anything human…” As humans, our so called wisdom is limited. We could claim to be wise to a certain extent, but we may not be so wise in the eyes of God. That is why we should not think too highly of ourselves, since all our wisdom, knowledge, abilities and skills ultimately come from God. Instead, let us remain humble and always be thankful to God for the many gifts and talents He has given us, and use such gifts and talents for His greater glory.

Wednesday of Week 22 Year 2

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Some of us seem to like comparing one person or thing to another. For example, we may have been compared to a classmate or school mate who seemed smarter than we are; or we have been compared to another person who is more athletic than us; or we have compared one item to another. Even in church, we sometimes hear of comparisons: a parish priest being compared to the previous one; or a leader of a parish ministry compared to the previous one; or even one church compared to another. But as Christians, what sort of attitude should we have towards comparison? Should we compare in the first place?

In today’s reading, St. Paul admonishes us: “After all, what is Apollos and what is Paul? They are servants who brought the faith to you. Even the different ways in which they brought it were assigned to them by the Lord. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow. Neither the planter nor the waterer matters: only God, who makes things grow. It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering, and each will duly be paid according to his share in the work. We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building.” The reading reminds us that we should not be comparing one person or thing to another, since ultimately, we are serving God, not to boost our ego or to serve ourselves. Each of us have got our own task and our own talents and gifts, so we should use such talents and gifts not to show how great we are, but to glorify God. May we stop all these comparisons, which can create jealousy, enmity and resentment, and instead devote ourselves to serving God and serving others.

Tuesday of Week 22 Year 2

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Life on this earth is a journey, and throughout this journey, we need to make choices. Sometimes the choices we make are spiritual, sometimes worldly. But whatever choice we make, we need to be prepared for the outcome, which could be good or bad. Some people choose to focus on only worldly matters, and limit or even totally ignore spiritual matters. Others choose to focus on spiritual matters, while not forgetting worldly matters, since we still need to live and survive. What about you? Are you only interested in worldly matters? Or have you made effort to grow spiritually and grow closer to God?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us that “An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men.” At the end of the day, everything of this world is only temporary. Everything that the world has to offer won’t last, and we too won’t live forever. It is up to us to decide whether we want to risk our eternal future or make necessary effort and preparations while we still have opportunities to do so.

Housekeeping – Week 22 Year 2

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

28 Aug 2016 – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
29 Aug 2016 – Beheading of St. John the Baptist
30 Aug 2016 – Tuesday of Week 22 Year 2
31 Aug 2016 – Wednesday of Week 22 Year 2
1 Sept 2016 – Thursday of Week 22 Year 2
2 Sept 2016 – Friday of Week 22 Year 2

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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What does it mean to be humble? Being humble is a Christian virtue, but some of us may have confused and misunderstood its true meaning. Some people think that humility means putting oneself down by being very critical of oneself, one’s talents and one’s achievements. They do not speak about their talents and gifts because they fear that this would appear to be boasting. Others criticise their own talents, abilities and achievements by saying: “I am not holy enough, don’t choose me as a leader in this parish;” “my cooking is just so so, I don’t think my dishes taste that great” (even though in reality, the dishes are yummylicious and shockalingam); “My voice is not that great, I don’t sing that well” (though in reality, the person sings like a lark). The problem and irony of such statements is: whenever we criticise and put ourselves down, we are actually hoping and expecting others to praise and admire us and our achievements. Such so called humility is not really humility, but is called false humility, which is a disguise for pride.

Instead, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is telling us: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.” The first reading reinforces what Jesus is telling us: “My son, be gentle in carrying out your business, and you will be better loved than a lavish giver. The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord.” Today’s readings tell us that we should not seek any reward, praise, thanks or honour for what we do. We should not look for positions of honour or for recognition of our achievements, since once we have become addicted and attached to praise and human recognition, everything that we do may be with a hidden motive. When others do not praise or thank us, we become fed up, hurt and angry. Humility is serving and giving without asking or expecting anything in return; without needing to please others; and doing all things for the glory of God.

So what should we do? How should we understand humility? Humility is understanding and appreciating one’s strengths and weaknesses. Every person has both strengths and weaknesses. If we learn to accept and live with our strengths and weaknesses, we would then be much happier persons. In the same way, we must also recognise and appreciate the weaknesses and strengths of others. We must always remember that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Also, humility means accepting all others as persons, as brothers and sisters. We should not pick and choose or stick only to certain groups. Instead, we should recognise everyone as precious, important, significant, valuable and deserving equal respect.

Today, let us follow the example of Jesus, who though was Son of God, humbled Himself and chose to become man, and even humbler still, chose to become a servant of all. As Christians, we should follow Jesus and embrace true humility, doing all things to build God’s Kingdom and to give Him all the glory.

Friday of Week 22 Year 1

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Change and progress is never easy for some. Some people generally prefer to remain as they are, keeping the status quo, doing as they have been doing for donkey years, sticking to what is familiar. Such people view new insights or new teaching with much suspicion, and they would often put up their defence mechanism to protect their old ways. The problem is, such people may have become so set in their old ways, that they have become a hindrance to allowing God’s voice to be heard and for true conversion of heart to take place.

That is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about not putting a new cloak to patch an old cloak, and using only new skins to store new wine. Jesus is telling us to move on from old ways to new and better ways of growing in relationship with God. He is telling us not to be too focused in only meticulously observing the law, as the scribes and Pharisees do, but to refocus in the law of loving God and loving neighbour, which was the whole idea and purpose of the law in the first place. The scribes and the Pharisees had taken what was supposed to be quite a simple law, and transformed it into lots of rituals and practices, which cause people to be bogged down in mere external practices. But Jesus, like new wineskin and new wine, was showing them and all of us too, a new and better way of living, by living the way of love.

Sometimes we too could be guilty in following the ways of the scribes and the Pharisees in what we do and how we behave towards others. Some of us are so focused in prayers and practices, which are like the old ways of the scribes and the Pharisees, instead of focusing in the new way of Christ, the way of loving all, just as God loves all. May we be humble and willing to change, so that we would be free to listen to God’s voice again, and grow deeper in relationship with Him.

Thursday of Week 22 Year 1

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Each and every one of us has got a different calling from God. Some of us are called to remain single, some are called to married life, others may be called to be priests or religious. All of these callings are not from our own efforts, but a vocation, a gift from God based on His plan for us. We can choose to respond to His call or to avoid it, for God does not force us to respond to a particular vocation or way of life.

In today’s Gospel, we come across the call of Simon Peter. When Simon Peter saw the huge amount of fish caught, “he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.” Notice that Simon Peter and his companions did respond to Jesus’ call, since they left everything and followed Him. Simon Peter might have been unsure or hesitant at first to respond to Jesus’ call, but what made him take the plunge is when Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

If we are called today to serve the Lord in a particular vocation, let us take heed and be assured by Jesus saying, “Do not be afraid.” We may experience different storms in life, and some of us may be tempted to abandon our calling, but let us not give up or run away, since we have Jesus as our help and guide. Let us with good cheer and enthusiasm respond to our calling, so that we too in our own way, be fishers of men.

Wednesday of Week 22 Year 1

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Good and capable doctors or healers are not easy to find. When we come across one, we would do our utmost best to try and ensure the person remains in our village, town or even city. Many would flock to such a person for treatment, making it less likely for the person to want to move elsewhere, since such a person’s services is sorely needed. But sometimes, due to reasons other than economics or popularity, such a person may eventually need to move.

When it comes to priests and religious, they too may be quite sought after, especially when they are good and capable preachers, counsellors, teachers or spiritual guides. We try to get them to remain with us, and some may go so far as to even write to the bishop or superior petitioning that they stay, but ultimately, they may still need to go elsewhere to serve.

In today’s Gospel, the crowds went to look for Jesus, “and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.”

Jesus could have easily been happy and comfortable to remain in one place and do His teaching and healing there, but that would mean that He was only satisfying His personal needs. Instead, He chose to do the will of God by going to other places to teach and heal, since He was sent to proclaim the Good News to many places, not just remain in one. In the same way, we too need to realise that when a priest or religious is transferred to another place, the priest or religious would move on because he or she is doing the will of God. Instead of making it difficult for him or her to move, let us be thankful for the gift of the priest or religious for having been with us for all these years, and let us continue to pray for him or her, so that he or she would remain faithful to his or her duty and vocation.

Tuesday of Week 22 Year 1

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Life is such that we can never predict what is going to happen tomorrow. Today we may seem healthy and full of vigour, tomorrow may be a different story. Things can happen all of a sudden, and we may not have time or opportunity to prepare ourselves for any eventuality. This is why we need to always be ready and be consistent in our preparations to be with the Lord, if that is what we hope for.

In today’s reading, we are reminded: “But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober. God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him. So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.”

What does it mean to stay wide awake and sober? It basically means we have been consistently making effort to remain in good terms with the Lord and growing in our spiritual life. At the same time, we are also reminded, as the reading tells us, to “give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another” so that together we would be with the Lord. Thus, let us not slack or be caught sleeping, but stay wide awake and sober, so that we may be live united in the Lord.