Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Easter Octave

Easter Wednesday

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Being crippled can be a difficult and painful experience. One’s ability to live an independent life is lost, and one would need help from others to perform even the simplest task which many of us take for granted. There are different reasons why a person could become crippled. Some are crippled as a result of an accident, some are crippled because of an illness, and some are crippled from birth, like the man in today’s reading.

The man in today’s reading had been crippled from birth, and he had to beg from people to survive. Instead of giving him money, Peter and John gave him something more important and more valuable: they cured him in the name of Jesus Christ and gave him back his freedom and independence. The man began walking and jumping and praising God for he was freed from his crippled state and was able to fend for himself.

In a way, we too could become crippled. When we sin, we are crippling our soul and slowly losing our ability to listen to the voice of God. We slowly become desensitised to what is holy and good, and lose our relationship with God. But all is not lost, for we are given plenty of opportunities to be healed from our crippling state when we seek forgiveness, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Are we humble and willing to be freed from our crippling state and grow closer to God, or are we still stubbornly refusing to change and remain crippled till it is too late?

Easter Tuesday

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Some of us seem to dwell in our hurts and experiences of disappointments. Some seem to be engrossed or stuck in such a state or are caught up with the past, preferring to wallow in our self-pity, our “poor me” syndrome, our feelings of helplessness and lick our wounds instead of seeking help, learning to come out of it and move on. Such people sometimes appear to have a dark cloud above their heads. Sometimes, such people could be suffering from low self-esteem or low self-worth, but we also come across people who prefer to be in such a state so that they could attract sympathy and comfort from others, to feed their ego or pride in a twisted way, so to speak.

In today’s Gospel, we come across Mary of Magdala who seems to be caught up with the past. Jesus had died and she seemed to be still thinking of what had happened to Jesus and how all her hopes, dreams and expectations had come to a crashing halt. Mary was still weeping, afraid to enter the tomb and not even realising that the duo in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet, were actually angels in white. Even when Mary turned round and saw Jesus standing there, she still did not recognise him. It was only when Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master.

Today, Jesus is calling us by name, inviting us to stop dwelling in the past and let Him be our “Master.” What has happened has happened, nothing can change that, but we can choose to learn from the experience and become stronger, and let God transform us into something better, or we can choose to remain as we are. Sometimes circumstances may seem to be not in our favour, or the odds may be stacked against us, but let us be reminded that God has helped His people in the past, and He will help us too, if we are willing to be patient and trust in His providence and love. Let us not weep but rejoice, for God will help us in His time, for His greater glory.

Easter Monday

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It is interesting to see the reaction of people who wake up and do not have anything urgent at hand, compared to people who wake up and realise that there is a pressing task ahead. Those who do not have any urgent matter at hand may likely find it difficult to get out of bed, and they may try to catch a few moments more of sleep. But what if there is a pressing task ahead and due to some reason or another, we have not completed the task? When we realise that the task is still pending, we may likely get out of bed quickly and start cracking on the task. Some of us may even wake up earlier than usual hoping to gain more time to work on the task at hand.

When Jesus rose from the dead, some people “woke up” and realised that an important event had happened and they had an important and urgent task to perform. In the Gospel, the women were filled with awe and great joy and they came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples. The Gospel then tells us: “And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.'” Naturally, the women became quite excited and anxious to fulfil the task given to them, and they when on their way quickly to tell the disciples. At the mean time, we also come across some soldiers who were the guards at the tomb. These soldiers went off quickly into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. From here, we can see two different groups “waking up” and having urgent news to convey, and from the Gospel, we know the outcome of the story. One group chose to tell the truth, the other chose to spread lies. One group chose to do God’s will, the other was more interested in protecting their own interests and saving their own skin.

What about us? When we “wake up” and come to realise of an important matter, are we willing to face the facts, face the truth, admit our failings or wrongdoings if any, seek forgiveness where necessary and move on? Or are we trying to avoid and hide the truth? The truth may hurt at times, but we can choose to get over it and be at peace, or we can choose to live in denial, live in fear, and suffer the consequences.

Easter Friday

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How much do we value our faith? Some of us are Catholics in name, but are we Catholics in practise? If we are interrogated or persecuted, would we still remain firm in faith, or would we run away? If we are sentenced to die, would we remain steadfast till the end, or would we chicken out to save our own skin?

Today’s reading tells us of Peter and John, who were talking to the people, much to the extreme annoyance of the priests, who were accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees. Peter and John were arrested and interrogated, but they were ever willing to proclaim the Good News when they said: “For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” Such courage and perseverance has been demonstrated throughout the centuries, where many men and women have offered their lives and gone forth, just as Peter and John did, to proclaim the Good News to all nations.

Today, we are constantly reminded and encouraged to go forth and proclaim the Good News. Are we doing our part for the greater glory of God?

Easter Thursday

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When something absolutely amazing and outstandingly wonderful happens, some of us may become dumbfounded. We may become gobsmacked, utterly astonished, astounded, bewildered or absolutely stunned, unable to say or do anything. This is what happened to the disciples when Jesus made His appearance. Perhaps in some of their hearts, they thought they were seeing a ghost. Some may have thought they were dreaming or seeing a vision. Nevertheless, it must have been an indescribable feeling when they saw Jesus. To pacify them and to show that He was for real, “He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.”

If Jesus were to appear to us in the same way as He did to the disciples, would our joy be so great as well? Would we take up the challenge to be His witnesses and go forth and preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all the nations? Sometimes in our daily living, we may have forgotten or played down our duty to proclaim the Good News. Jesus Christ is risen and He now commands us to go forth and proclaim the Good News. Do we still need further convincing?

Easter Wednesday

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How many of us really care about others? Do we care about others unconditionally, or do we care because there is something we can gain from caring? In today’s reading, the people, who put the cripple from birth down to beg every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate, are not mentioned in name. Who are these people? Why were they putting the cripple down every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate to beg? Were they using the man to beg so that they could get money by preying on the sympathy of passersby? Were they just being charitable to the man so that he could continue to survive? Could the man’s condition be healed, even though the cost could have been quite high? So many questions, so many scenarios.

However, we notice something different. Peter and John did not just give him some money and walk away. They healed him of his crippledness in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. In doing so, they gave back the crippled man his life, his independence, his freedom. He was no longer dependent on others to survive, he could now take care of himself. If you were in his shoes, you would also certainly be walking and jumping and praising God!

It seems easy for us to just give some money and walk away. After all, that seems to be the most convenient way of doing charity. But let us ask ourselves sincerely… Is that enough? Are we really helping, or are we just giving so that the recipient would not bother us further, and possibly to feel and look good? How many of us are willing to go that extra mile, like Peter and John, and help the person more than what is basic or minimum? Are we truly loving others, just as God truly love us?

Easter Tuesday

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Simple folks, especially those from the countryside or villages can sometimes be more trusting and dependent on God’s providence. Some possible reasons why these folks are like that is because they are not burdened with a lot of information or gadgets and gizmos, they do not have that much fear and anxiety due to their fewer belongings, they are a closer knit community as they practically grew up together and tend to know each other better, etc.

When Peter spoke to the Jews, he was speaking to simple folks who already feared the Lord. His words “cut to the heart… They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised.” It did not require that much philosophical and theological explanations to convince them, and “that very day about three thousand were added to their number.”

What about us? Are we simple folks or have we become complicated folks? Do we analyse too much before we become convinced? Or are we willing to trust God more? Sometimes in our quest for development and progress, we may have become more and more sophisticated and complicated, and lost our simplicity in life.

Easter Monday

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Some people may think that a white lie is ok but other lies are not ok (or some may even think that other lies are ok). However, a lie is a lie, no matter what colour it may be. When a person lies, that person is trying to protect something or someone, or perhaps to save face, or to avoid an embarassing or incriminating situation.

The chief priests and elders in today’s Gospel are caught lying to save their own skin. They were more concerned about themselves and their establishment, and were not willing to accept or admit the truth about Jesus. Even the guards who witnessed the resurrection were not willing to put their lives in jeopardy over an itinerant preacher like Jesus, since they could be executed if the truth comes out. So, to muddle up things and to protect their own interests, money is once again involved. Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and once again He is “betrayed” with a considerable sum of money. Not only were these people guilty of bearing false witness, they were also guilty of greed.

What about us? Are we guilty of bearing false witness and greed today? Are we no different than the chief priests and elders or the soldiers in today’s Gospel? Is the truth too difficult to swallow? We may try to hide or cover up the truth, but as a Malay proverb reminds us: “sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga.” (loosely translated in English as: “No matter how good a squirrel is at jumping around trees, in the end it will fall to the ground.”). Are we going to wait until we are finally exposed for the lies uttered? Why do some of us imprison ourselves with lies and more lies, only to bring ourselves to ruin or cause ourselves to be worse off later?