Category Archives: Monday

When you come to church to attend Mass, how many of you would offer all the money you have on you for the church? Quite likely, many of you would put a few dollars or a few Malaysian ringgit into the offering bag, while some of you may offer what you can spare. Some may put in more if they are rich and can afford it, but how many of us would be willing to put everything that we have by emptying our pockets of cash? Some of you may say that it would be crazy to offer everything we have to God, since we would need money for food and other things after the Mass.

But if we consider a moment, today’s Gospel tells us of a poverty-stricken widow who put in all she had to live on, as Jesus tells us: “I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.” When we put money in the offering, it is not the amount that counts, it is how generous we are willing to be. Remember that all that we have comes from God, and God has been generous to us in many ways. Are we not willing to be just as generous in our contributions and in offering our talents for the church?

It seems strange that there are people who think that the sabbath or the Lord’s Day is the day where nothing can be done, not even charitable deeds and deeds of mercy is allowed. Such people would frown upon others who do good on such a day, since in their mind, doing good is work. But what these people fail to realise is that work refers to labour, which is basically to make a living. But is doing good labour, to make a living; or is doing good a form of charity or works of mercy?

In today’s Gospel, the synagogue official obviosuly took a radical or extreme stand in what it means to keep the sabbath. To him, as well as to the scribes and Pharisees, any form of work, even if it is for charity or for works of mercy, is work and must be avoided at all cost on the sabbath. This caused Jesus to exclaim: “‘Hypocrites!’ he said ‘Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the sabbath and take it out for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years – was it not right to untie her bonds on the sabbath day?'”

When we are to stuck up with avoiding any form of work on the sabbath or on the Lord’s Day, we may be missing the point. We keep the Lord’s Day holy not by becoming lazy, complacent or indifferent towards others, but by showing our faith through our participation in church, as well as by our words and good deeds. May we come to realise the difference between unnecessary work, and work which shows our faith and helps others come to know us as Christians.

Some of us may have become quite comfortable with life on earth, that we may have neglected in preparing ourselves to meet the Lord. We think that we have plenty of time to grow spiritually, especially if we are still young, seem physically fit, do not seem to have any diseases or major illnesses and we have a whole life and many opportunities ahead of us. But as know, death can come at any time and in any form. We have seen recent tragedies and happenings which remind us how frail and impermanent we are, since we could be gone in a blink of an eye. Would we end up being caught off-guard and unprepared if something should suddenly happen?

In today’s Gospel, we come across a rich man who had a good harvest and thought that he had many years of enjoyment to come. But Jesus cautions us: “But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?.” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.” Would we still insist in being complacent and not bothered, thinking that we need not be concerned for the time being? Or would it not be better for us to start doing something now, even if it is little by little, so that we would gradually grow closer to God? After all, we are reminded in a Malay proverb: “Sedikit sedikit lama lama jadi bukit” which roughly translates as “little by little, eventually it becomes a hill.” May we do what we can, even if it is little by little, so that we may be somewhat prepared for any eventuality, come what may.

Supposing someone were to come up to you and ask you: “What do you do as a Christian or as a Catholic?” What would your response be? Some of us may say we worship and pray to God and Jesus is our saviour and guide. Some may say that they attend Sunday Mass regularly and get involved in various church activities. But what are we supposed to do as Christians?

While all other activities and church events are good, our primary duty as Christians is to preach the Good News, as Paul says in the reading. Not only that, Paul also mentioned in the reading that Romans, to whom his letter is addressed, are also duty-bound to preach the Good News. This means that preaching the Good News is not only meant for religious leaders, each and every Christian is expected to do his or her part in preaching the Good News, in one form or another. Therefore, let us not slack or try to shirk our responsibilities, and go do what is expected of us.

If God calls you and asks you to do something, would you do it? Or would you try to find all sorts of excuses to avoid doing it?  Some of us may even go to the extent of trying to run away and hide, hoping that God would eventually let us go and not bother us, but that is not often the case. God is omnipotent and omniscient, meaning that He is all-powerful and all-knowing. This means that, no matter where we try to run, we cannot hide, for God can seek and find us anyhow.

In today’s reading, Jonah tried to run away from God, instead of doing His will by going to Nineveh. What Jonah failed to realise is that he was not dealing with just any other being, but he was dealing with God. Jonah tried to run away by boarding a ship to Tarshish, but God had other plans. In a way, the way God treated Jonah shows that He has got an interesting sense of humour, by causing Jonah to be swallowed by a big fish, only to be vomitted on to the shore after three days and three nights in the fish’s belly. Eww! Must have been quite yucky and disgusting to be stuck in a fish for a while.

In the same way, we too could experience a not so pleasant time like Jonah, if we choose to repeatedly ignore God’s voice. Sometimes we need to remember that God calls us because He has a better plan for us, and it would be to our benefit to do His will for His greater glory.

What do you value most in life? Some people value fame, fortune, recognition, power, wealth, or popularity. Such people would make much effort to achieve what they value, because they want to be seen as the best, the smartest, or even the greatest. If we ponder for a moment, we could realise that we value these things mainly because we are proud of ourselves and are feeding our ego. But all these things that we value are only temporary. We cannot bring them with us when we die. Even while we are still alive, situations could cause us to lose these things; sometimes due to reasons beyond our control. Then what would happen then? What would we do?

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “An argument started between the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side and then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.'” Why would a little child be great? It is precisely because the child is docile and dependent on his or her parents, instead of trying to boost one’s ego. We too can be great, not because we are trying to feed our pride and ego, but because we are humbling ourselves and being dependent on God’s help and providence. We are also being great when all we do, we do it for the glory of God, and not for our personal gratification. The question is: are we only looking for greatness among others here on earth, greatness which is only temporary and will be forgotten or fade away? Or have we learnt not to be too concerned about greatness, and continue to do God’s will?