Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 4th

Saturday of Week 4 Year 1

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It is good to have zeal and make effort to preach the Good News. After all, we Christians are commissioned and sent forth to do so by our Lord Jesus. However, as with many things in life, there needs to be a time and place for everything. If we spend too much time in one thing, we may end up neglecting another thing, to our detriment. For example, in our efforts to preach the Good News, we may neglect taking care of our health, and as a result, we may face serious health consequences. Such health consequences could cause us to be unable to continue preaching the Good News, whereas if we had been balanced in taking care of our health while preaching the Good News, we would be able to preach the Good News for a longer period.

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves.”

From the Gospel, we can see that even Jesus and the apostles would take a break whenever they can, to take care of other matters while being diligent in preaching the Good News. This means that we should not be extreme in our efforts, but do things in a balanced way, so that we could continue fulfilling our duty harmoniously. May we learn to know the right place and the right time to do different things, so that we could continue to give glory to God in all we say and do.

Saturday of Week 4 Year 2

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One of the many realities in life is that we cannot do everything. There are some things which we can do; some things which we can do really well, as we have the gift or talent for it; and there are also some things which we just cannot do, or are able to do with some difficulty. Some things can be learnt, but learning to do such things has its limits, since we may not be naturally adept or gifted in doing such things. This is where we need to learn to let go and let others do other things which we may not necessarily be good at, or depend on God’s providence to get things done.

In today’s reading, king Solomon acknowledged before the Lord that he was a young man and unskilled in leadership. He asked the Lord for wisdom so that he could understand how to discern between good and evil; and to be a good king following the ways of the Lord. Because of this, king Solomon was not only given wisdom, but blessed by the Lord with power, wealth and victory over his enemies. King Solomon knew his abilities and limitations, and chose to depend on God’s providence, instead of trying to do things on his own.

What about us? Are we willing and humble enough to acknowledge our abilities and limitations just as King Solomon did, and seek wisdom from the Lord, so that we could do His will? May we come to realise that ultimately, our help is in the Lord, and may we glorify Him in all we do.

Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter

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Some people can have interesting and even wild imagination when it comes to what they think God looks like. Some think that God looks like Santa Claus, giving us lots of gifts, benefits and other goodies. Others think that God looks like a fierce judge, ever willing and ready to mete out punishment and torture on all who displeases Him. But what does God really look like? Is really that important for us to know? Would we really be satisfied just to know what God looks like?

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him, ‘and you still do not know me? ‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father, so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Not only that, the Gospel reminds us that we are to believe in Jesus, and by doing so, Jesus assures us: “I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father.”

So what does this mean to us? It means that it is not enough just to know what God looks like, though by seeing Jesus we would have some idea of what God looks like. What is more important is for us to believe in Jesus and do the works He did. May we concern ourselves more in preaching the Good News with words and deeds, and give glory to God while doing so.

Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter

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Some of us, from time to time, may have shown certain behaviour which can be really childish or even downright stupid. The reality is that we don’t really gain anything from such behaviour, and yet we fail to acknowledge how silly we really are. One such behaviour is jealousy. Jealousy occurs due to thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, concern, and envy over relative lack of possessions, status or something of great personal value.When we allow ourselves to succumb to jealousy, we become blinded in pursuing what one lacks, leading us to childish or silly behaviour, which could even lead us to the point of committing great evil or despicable acts.

In today’s reading, the Jews were so consumed with jealousy, that they began to act childish, silly and stupid, and they began to use blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. From acting childish, silly and stupid, the Jews allowed jealousy to turn into violent behaviour, where they “worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory.” Such uncontrolled jealousy eventually led to more evil and harm committed, where there is nothing to gain and everything to lose.

What about us? Have some of us become like the Jews, so jealous that we have lost our sense of what is right, just, proper and fair? Has our pride and ego become more important than doing the will of God? May we check ourselves and avoid being entrapped or enslaved by the poison of jealousy, and give glory to God in all we say and do.

Saturday of the 4th Week of Lent

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Some of us seem to assume that we know it all. For example, by just getting some information about a certain person, some of us form all sorts of conclusions about the person, and think that we know everything about the person. One situation where this may happen is when a priest is posted to his home parish as parish priest. Some may assume that they know him well, since they have seen him grow up from a child, and they assume that they know his background, character and so on. But can we really assume that we know a person completely? Could we ever admit that we have been wrong about some or even all of our assumptions?

In today’s Gospel, a lot of assumptions had been made about Jesus, especially about His identity. The Pharisees thought they knew everything about Jesus, and assumed that Jesus could not possibly be a prophet, since they assumed that He came from Galilee. Also, the Pharisees condemned the crowd for following Jesus, and said about them: “This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.” since they assumed they knew best about the Law and who Jesus was. In the midst of these assumptions, an unexpected challenge came from Nicodemus, who challenged the people to give Jesus a hearing and to discover for themselves who Jesus really was. But the assumptions far outnumbered and drowned out the challenge.

What does this mean to us? It means that when our minds are closed, and we choose to stick stubbornly to our assumptions, we can never grow or change. We begin to think that our ways are exactly what God expects of us, even though in reality, we could be quite wrong. This smacks of pride, prejudice and ego. Would we be really and ever willing to humble ourselves, and discover Jesus as He really is, and walk in His ways, not according to what we think are His ways?

Saturday of the 4th Week of Lent

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Who can we trust in this world? Some of us think that we can trust our parents; some think we can trust our spouse; some think we can trust our children; some think we can trust our brothers, sisters or other relatives; some even think we can trust our friends; but how much can we really trust such persons? Can we find a person we can trust completely, without any shadow of doubt? The challenge that we face is that we may be able to trust persons to a certain extent, but how many of us can claim to have absolute trust in certain persons?

In today’s reading, Jeremiah is trusting of others until the Lord shows him the truth, and then he realises that they were plotting against him, even ready to kill him, and he was unaware of the deception. He would have gone on innocently, not knowing the danger, except that the Lord was looking out for him and showed him the way. We may think others are trustworthy, but they are at best human and at worst dangerous. Jeremiah was trusting of others, and they would have killed him. But he can trust in the Lord. In the same way, we too should be mindful whom we trust, and ultimately put full trust and confidence in the Lord.

Saturday of Week 4 Year 1

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It is easy for us to give praise and thanks to God for all that He has done for us. After all, words are easy to utter and people may say things without necessarily mean what they say. For example, a person may say certain things to sound good, or to flatter another, but how does a person mean what he or she says? Are mere words sufficient?

In today’s reading, we are reminded: “Through Christ, let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise, a verbal sacrifice that is offered every time we acknowledge his name. Keep doing good works and sharing your resources, for these are sacrifices that please God.” The reading tells us that we should not only praise God with words, we should also do good works and share resources. This means that mere words are not enough, since action speaks louder than words. Are we making more effort to “walk the talk” and give glory to God in all we say and do?

Thursday of Week 4 Year 1

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Going forth and preach the Good News is a command Jesus has given to each and every one of us. This command is not to be taken lightly, as it is one of great urgency and importance. Today’s Gospel reminds us of this great urgency and importance: “Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.'”

Since we are called to go forth and preach the Good News, we should not allow ourselves to become distracted with all sorts of needs and wants, and lose our focus and concentration in our duty. Instead, we should depend on God’s providence, so that we can be effective in bringing Jesus’ message to others. Are we willing to trust in God’s care and providence, and be faithful in our duty in preaching the Good News?

Monday of Week 4 Year 1

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Being possessed by an evil spirit is certainly no laughing matter. A possessed person has little or even no control of himself or herself, and what a relief it would be to be rid of such possession. It is quite understandable then why a person who had been freed from possession would want to stay with Jesus, as mentioned in the Gospel. Perhaps the demoniac felt indebted to Jesus, and he wanted to stay with Jesus to serve Him. Perhaps the demoniac wanted some sense of security in Jesus’ presence, since he may have had concerns that he may be possessed again.

But whatever reason the demoniac had in begging to be allowed to stay with Jesus, Jesus would not let him stay. Instead, Jesus said to him, ‘Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.’ In this way, the demoniac was preaching the Good News by sharing his story with his people, instead of keeping it to himself and clinging on to Jesus. If we are in a similar situation, would we be grateful and thankful of God’s mercy? Would we also be excited to share the Good News with others?

Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter

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Among the many sins a person could commit, one which is quite dangerous and could lead to even greater sins, is the sin of jealousy. A person can become engulfed in jealousy due to thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, concern, and envy over relative lack of possessions, status or something of great personal value. As a result, a person who is jealous could become blinded in pursuing what one lacks, even to the point of committing great evil or despicable acts.

In today’s reading, we are told: “When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said.” Not only that, the Jews were so jealous that they “worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory.” Great evil was committed, just because the Jews were jealous that Paul and Barnabas were attracting a bigger crowd than they could muster.

What about us? Have we allowed jealousy to run our lives and blind us to what is true? Have we become so jealous that our pride and ego is more important than doing the will of God? May we take caution and guard ourselves against being blinded with jealousy, since all we say and do ought to be for the glory of God.