Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Saturday

Saturday of Week 5 Year 1

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Every once in a while, I get certain persons coming to me for confession, and instead of confessing their sins, they begin a tirade of how other people caused them to sin, putting the blame on other people and refusing to admit their own wrongdoing. Such persons seem to try and justify that the wrong committed is not their fault, and that they are the victim. It seems as if such persons are making others a scapegoat and not wanting to own up to the wrong committed.

In today’s reading, we come across another example of blaming others, or trying to pass the buck, or not owning up to one’s mistakes. In the reading, Adam blamed the woman whom God had put with him, and the woman blamed the serpent for tempting her. Though each was at fault for doing a wrong thing, each of them refused to own up to their sin. As a result, Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden.

What about us? Are some of us still blaming others for our sins? Or have we learnt to own up to them, seek forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and make more effort to follow God’s ways? God is inviting us to take responsibility for what we have done or failed to do, and let Him transform us into something better, for His Glory.

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?

Saturday of Week 1 Year 1

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Every once in a while, we come across people who have mastered the art of putting on an appearance or seem to have a “poker face,” where real thoughts and emotions are hidden or buried, and what is shown is merely an illusion. For example, such a person may be angry with someone or something, and the person may be fuming or seething with rage, but because the person does not want others to see the true self, the person may appear calm and pretend as if everything is fine, though in reality, the anger is eating him or her from the inside.

While we may be able to appear in a certain way and give others a false impression, one thing we ought to realise is we cannot fool God. Today’s reading reminds us of this fact: “The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.”

So let us not be naive to think that nobody knows our thoughts and actions, since God is watching us. Instead, let us cast aside our falsehoods and be real and genuine, while doing our best to remain in God’s care and guidance, for the betterment of our eternal future.

Saturday after Epiphany

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How many of us have trust and confidence that God listens to our prayers? Perhaps we may say that we have trust and confidence, but how many of us would have trust and confidence that God would answer our prayers? Perhaps this is where our trust and confidence may be tested, since God does not necessarily answer our prayers according to our expectations or demands, but according to His will and for His purposes. When God answers our prayers in a way quite different to what we hope for or expect, would we still let His will be done?

In today’s reading, we are reminded: “We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything, and it is in accordance with his will, he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us, we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him.” The reading tells us that God listens to our prayers in accordance with His will, not ours, and that if we ask for something in accordance with His will, then we can be confident that He will hear us. The question is: are we asking in accordance with His will, or is what we are asking for laced with self-interests and self-centered desires?

Saturday of the 2nd Week of Advent

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Years ago, I recall receiving an e-mail about a lady who was looking for a Mr. Right. In other words, the lady was fishing for a husband. It so happened that the lady came across a building with a sign saying: “Search a Husband Here.” Also, there was another sign saying: “You can enter this building only once and stop at each floor only once.” The building had 7 floors and the lady excitedly entered the lift at the ground floor. When the lift reached the first floor, the doors of the lift opened and the lady saw a sign in front of her saying: “Enter here for a husband who is handsome and strong.” The lady decided to remain in the lift, curious to know what the next floors would be. At the second floor, the sign in front of her said: “Enter here for a husband who is handsome, strong, and a good cook.” The sign at the third floor said: “Enter here for a husband who is handsome, strong, a good cook, and loves children.” The lady became more and more curious and excited, and she decided to remain in the lift and see what the other floors would reveal. As she reached the fourth, fifth and sixth floor, the sign in front of her on each floor revealed even more fantastic capabilities and attributes of the men supposingly to be found at each floor. Finally the lady reached the seventh floor and when she got out of the lift, all she saw was a flight of stairs going down, and a sign which said: “No men can be found here, since no men could ever meet your expectations at this level.”

Today’s gospel tells us about a Mr. Right, the right man to foretell the coming of the Messiah. According to the scribes, the prophet Elijah is the right person to prepare the coming of the Messiah, since they believed that Elijah was the precursor of the Messiah, and that Elijah was a terrible man preaching doom and destruction. Yet when John the Baptist came and announced the coming of the Messiah, somebody greater than him, the scribes did not accept him as Mr. Right. For them, John’s person and message was not up to their expectations. He preached about baptism and personal conversion, not about the terror that will go with the day of the Lord. For them John was not Elijah, not Mr. Right. Yet, the irony is, John actually turned our to be Mr, Right, not according to our expectations, but according to God’s plans.

What about us? Have our expectations clouded us and prevented us from accepting the message of John the Baptist, the actual Mr. Right, and prepare the way for the Lord? May we open our eyes, ears and hearts, so that we would be able to let the message of John the Baptist change us, so that we would learn to walk in God’s ways and glorify Him in all we do.

Saturday of Week 34 Year 2

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A lot of diseases such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes can be prevented and controlled. What is important is we need to be disciplined in our diet and keeping our weight and stress levels in control. But for some of us, when it comes to preventive measures, we don’t usually see the benefits of being vigilant. So what happens? Some of us begin to slacken and not take care. Then while we are lying on the hospital bed in pain, then only we start regretting for not taking care of our health and our body.

The same also goes for our soul and our eternal future. Jesus in today’s Gospel warns us: “Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap.” If we are not vigilant; if we slacken in our spiritual health and allow sin to permeate in our soul and neglect to cleanse ourselves from sin by going for confession, we may find ourselves regretting for not taking care of our spiritual health. By then, it may be too late, and we may find ourselves away from God.

So let us not neglect our health and our body, and at the same time let us not neglect our spiritual health, lest we find ourselves suffering physically or even spiritually. Let us remain vigilant and watch ourselves, so that when the time comes, we would be better prepared to meet the Lord.

Saturday of Week 33 Year 2

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We sometimes here people saying words like: “a thorn in my side.” What they basically mean is that someone or something has been continually causing problems for them, and the sooner they are able to get rid of such problems, the better. For example, some couples may have had money problems as a thorn in their side since the day they got married; or health inspectors are a thorn in the side of most restaurants; or custom officers have been a thorn in the side of criminals involved in smuggling activities due to raids and confiscation of smuggled goods.

In today’s reading, we come across another example of a “thorn in my side.” In the reading, two prophets who have been a plague to the world, were finally killed by the beast that comes out of the Abyss. This caused the people of the world to be glad about it, since they thought that the “thorn in their sides” have been finally gotten rid of. But God had other plans, and “after three-and-a-half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified; then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here’, and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.” The thorn in the sides of the people of the world could not be silenced or stopped, since God is with them.

What does this mean to us? As Christians, we are called to be “a thorn in the side” of others, especially when it comes to doing what is right and just. We may face troubles or persecution, or even put to death, but we should not be worried or concerned, and continue being “a thorn in the side,” since what we are doing is not for our own gratification or glory, but for the glory of God.

Saturday of Week 32 Year 2

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What does it mean to be a Christian? Some say that being a Christian means following the ways of Christ; some think that being a Christian means praying and observing church laws and precepts; some think that being a Christian means to reach out to the poor, marginalised, destitute, the lost, the little, and so on. All these efforts are good and they have their purpose, but perhaps one area which some of us should look at is supporting the mission of the church, especially in funds contributed and other supporting roles, so that those doing mission could focus on their duty.

Today’s reading reminds us that “It is our duty to welcome missionaries and contribute our share to their work.” This means that we not only need to encourage and support them, we also need to see to their upkeep and for other works of charity they may endeavour. As we know, doing God’s work involves expenses, as nothing is free, and the more we are willing to contribute to missionary efforts, the more people can be sent to reach out to others, especially in areas where some of us may not be able to go ourselves.

Thus, we need to ask ourselves: are we contributing fairly and generously for the growth of the church and for its missionary efforts? Sometimes the little extra we offer could go a long way towards helping the church to continue in its efforts in bringing the Good News to all.

Saturday of Week 31 Year 2

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A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organisations use KPIs at multiple levels to evaluate their success at reaching targets.When it comes to our spiritual life, we also have a form of KPI which we need to watch out for. What sort of KPI are we talking about?

In our spiritual life, one KPI of our spiritual condition and relationship with God, is connected to our relationship with money: do we use money or do we serve money? One good example of how one should use money and not serve money is St. Paul. In today’s reading, St. Paul tells us: “I have learnt to manage on whatever I have, I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength.”

What about us? Have we learnt to be like St. Paul and use money for the glory of God? Or have we allowed ourselves to become enslaved by money and serve money? May we come to realise our spiritual situation, and do something while we have the time and opportunity to do so.

Saturday of Week 30 Year 2

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What is a dilemma? A dilemma is a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable. For example, we may have heard of the expression, “between the devil and the deep blue sea,” or “between a rock and a hard place,” where either choice would lead to undesirable results, but at the very least, one result could be less difficult to accept compared to the other.

In today’s reading, St. Paul spoke of a dilemma. But St. Paul’s dilemma was of a different kind, where there were two options or possibilities and both of which were good for him. St. Paul’s dilemma, was like a best case scenario or even a “happy” dilemma, where remaining alive would enable him to guide and strengthen the community, while remaining in Christ; or facing death which would mean that he would be forever with Christ. Though St. Paul would have wanted to be forever with Christ, he also realised that to stay alive on this earth would be a more urgent need for the sake of the community. So, St. Paul chose to survive and stay, and continue to serve for the good of the community and glorify God.

What about us? If we were to face a “happy” dilemma like St. Paul, would we be willing to set aside our personal desire to be forever with Christ, and continue to guide the community entrusted to us? May we continue to humbly walk in God’s ways, and help others to do the same.